Arkitema

This Monday, we were happy to welcome yet another group of student interns to our offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus. We look forward to giving them a stepping stone in their careers while also learning from their fresh knowledge, youthful spirit, and aspirations. We see our interns as equal colleagues, whose input and ideas can be just as valuable and enriching to a project as those of our senior architects. As an integral part of their new teams, the interns will spend the next five months gaining hands-on experience while also exploring new areas of the field with guidance from our specialists. By bringing together a group of like-minded student interns at our offices, we also give them the opportunity to be part of a unique community. Through various social activities and internal lessons provided by our specialists, we hope this new group will return to school wiser, stronger, and even more prepared for their future careers as architects and construction architects.

Times and tides are changing in Dragør 🌊💧☔ Dragør Municipality, just south of Copenhagen, is blessed with unique nature. Its long, stunning coastline, beach meadows, and forest form an exceptional area designated as a protected Natura-2000 zone. However, with rising sea levels, increasing groundwater levels, more frequent flooding due to storm surges, and heavier rainfalls, the municipality faces a critical challenge: protecting both its citizens and its natural treasures. This has led to the development of a new coastal protection strategy – done with great care. And with a newly awarded 30 mDKK grant from Kystdirektoratet - Danish Coastal Authority Authority, the project has come a large step closer to realization🎉 This complex task requires extensive interdisciplinary knowledge, innovative approaches, and close collaboration between advisors, experts, citizens, and authorities. Together with talented colleagues at COWI and IS IT A BIRD, and not least our client Dragør Kommune, we have designed a nature-based coastal defense featuring absorbent borders as the core solution. By precisely shaping the future landscape, we can accommodate expected water volumes naturally. Unlike hard defenses with reflective barriers, this approach doesn’t resist water but embraces it as a force of nature. Instead of fighting the water, it softens its impact, creating a seamless transition from land to sea. This design not only safeguards but also enhances the distinctive character of Dragør Municipality where proximity to nature and the integration of cultural and natural heritage are part of Dragør’s DNA. While the solution may require significant space, when carefully integrated into the existing landscape, the result will be a unique piece of nature that benefits flora, fauna, and humans alike. More information on the project can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dQ5BDCHz

Happy Holidays from Arkitema!   As we bid farewell to 2024, we eagerly anticipate the new year, raising the bar even higher when it comes to creating cities of the future. Just like the ever-evolving world around us, our designs continue to transform and innovate. We thank our ambitious clients, collaborators, and creative teams of colleagues who continue to accelerate the green transition. Thank you for your engagement and interest in being part of or following our strong ambitions to create more future-oriented architecture for current and generations ahead. Wishing you all the best for 2025!

A culture centre like no other is underway in Hornslet! We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that we are going to bring the ambitions of the client and the city to life. Last night Arkitema was appointed as the winner of the architectural competition to design a new culture centre in the city of Hornslet, Syddjurs Kommune, Denmark🎉 This is indeed a project from Ejendomsfonden Kulturgrunden that sets new standards! “The competition programme strongly emphasised reuse, transformation, and circularity, and through great cross-disciplinary co-creation between our colleagues here at Arkitema and at @COWI we have managed to make a design that meets the criteria. At the same time, we’ve designed a sensory and including building to enrich Hornslet’s cultural life, both for everyday life and for festive occasions,” states Senior Creative Leader at Arkitema, Anna Kathrine Bisgaard Sørensen This project will be a pioneer in reuse and circular design. We aim to create a structure that is; flexible, can be disassembled, can be adapted to future needs, and can be recycled. The building’s load-bearing construction will be made of wood, while the protective outer envelope and certain interior elements will feature reused and biogenic materials. On the site today, you’ll find two existing brick houses. Our ambition is to reuse as much as possible from these buildings. Among others, we have designed a large circular element at the heart of the culture centre, constructed using reclaimed bricks from these houses. When the new culture centre opens in 2028, it will host the local public library, Citizen Service, a culture school with workshops and music rooms, a stage hall for theatre and music, 2 cinema halls, and a communal kitchen, among other facilities. Hornslet Culture Centre will become a vibrant meeting place and cultural hub for the entire area. We can’t wait to get started!

The end of the line, or the starting point for new adventures Copenhagen South Station is a modern transportation hub poised to become Denmark’s second-largest station, connecting travelers to buses, trains, cars, bicycles—and now also the Copenhagen Metro. This summer, the metro station at Copenhagen South opened as the last (or first) stop on the M4 line, marking a new milestone for travelers in the Copenhagen metropolitan area. From the expansive, open forecourt, you descend into an almost magical blue space. On the deep blue walls, artist Henrik Plenge Jakobsen has created the stunning artwork Stella Novis. Stella Novis is a monumental geocentric astronomical clock that displays the position of the planets in the sky as they align above this very location Copenhagen South Station at any given moment. From here, you can hop on a train and travel anywhere in the world. And who knows? In the future, maybe even to the stars. In close collaboration with Metroselskabet and the talented team at Gottlieb Paludan Architects, we designed the five new stations along the M4 line. Each station highlights its own unique artistic identity while seamlessly integrating into the overall system. We’re also proud to have worked hand-in-hand with our esteemed engineering partners at COWI throughout this project. Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Until the Copenhagen trams ceased operations to Mozarts Square in 1968 the square served as a turning point for the trams. Now, the Metro has reinstated the square as a vital hub in the city’s infrastructure. As the fourth stop on the M4 line heading south from Copenhagen Central Station, this station connects one of the "original" neighbourhoods in the South Harbour district to the broader Copenhagen metropolitan area. Inside the station, local artist christian schmidt-rasmussen has created a stunning mural titled Out of Childhood. Covering all the walls, the artwork celebrates the area’s unique character. As a neighbourhood native, Christian’s work is an imaginative blend of animals, humans, shapes, and forms, all set against a striking deep-blue background. The mural is rich in details and open-ended narratives, offering something new to discover whether you're waiting on the platform, riding the escalators, or simply passing through the corridor to one of the two staircases leading to the station. In close collaboration with Metroselskabet and the talented architects at Gottlieb Paludan Architects, we designed the five new stations along the M4 line. Each station showcases its own artistic identity while remaining part of a cohesive whole. Throughout the project, we also worked closely with our esteemed engineering partners at COWI.   Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Sluseholmen Station is one of Copenhagen's newest metro stations – the third stop on the M4 line from Copenhagen Central Station. This underground station opened in June, bringing passengers a fully operational, sleek new addition to the city’s transit network. However, the surrounding area is still a work in progress. Located in the heart of a developing district, Sluseholmen Station currently greets passengers with the sights and sounds of a construction zone above ground. But in just a few years, this area will transform into a vibrant neighborhood, home to thousands of residents and businesses. Underground, both today's and tomorrow’s passengers can enjoy our architectural design in beautiful connection with two stunning artworks by @René Schmidt. Due to the station’s depth, Schmidt’s gravity-defying silver sculpture - suspended upside down between two escalators - gives a feeling of a station that is deeper than it is. Go see for yourself to experience the barophobic sensation firsthand! Sluseholmen Station was designed in close collaboration with Metroselskabet and our talented colleagues at Gottlieb Paludan Architects. Together, we created five unique stations on the M4 line, each with its own character yet part of a cohesive whole. Throughout the project, we have also worked closely with our esteemed engineering colleagues at COWI. Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

When life gives us wind and lava... we make green hydrogen! Or at least, the great minds at Qair Group do. In Iceland, we’re thrilled to partner in designing Qair’s innovative hydrogen production facility, which blends sustainable energy and respect for the landscape. Qair’s new facility at Grundartangi in Western Iceland aims to be more than just a renewable energy powerhouse with its 840 MW capacity—it’s a vision of how architecture and environment can work together. Drawing inspiration from Iceland's unique natural beauty, like the aurora borealis, we’re helping Qair shape a site that not only produces green energy for Europe but is organically connected to its surroundings. The facility’s flexible production system will respond to excess energy in the grid and new wind farms, responsibly tapping into Iceland’s clean resources. Alongside our highly specialized colleagues at COWI, each project phase has been crafted to honour the land while minimizing environmental impact. This ensures that even large-scale production fits harmoniously within Iceland's wild beauty. This project pushes boundaries — not only in renewable energy but in reimagining industrial sites as part of the landscape. We’re looking forward to seeing the first phase operational by 2028 and helping to set a standard for architecture that supports a greener future!

This is a shore thing! The Lynetteholm coastline is getting ready to ride out any storm 🌊   Last week, we launched our drone to capture this image of the initial stages of the Lynetteholm project. From above, you can clearly see the outlines of the perimeter of the future coastline, designed to play a key role in Copenhagen’s climate resilience. It’s always fascinating to follow a project from its beginning. With the Lynetteholm project slated for completion in 2070, it will be a long journey until we see the entire vision realized. But when we look at these wavy curves, we see the critical first steps in ensuring a successful outcome for the project’s initial phase – developing a nature-based, climate-proof solution.   Lynetteholm is charting a new course in climate-proofing and enhancing Copenhagen’s blue and green attractions! Rather than treating climate resilience and flood protection as standalone efforts, Lynetteholm integrates climate adaptation with an expected urban development, creating a unique opportunity to protect the city from climate change and storm surges while adding valuable new urban qualities. We’re thrilled to continue developing By & Havn’s important climate initiative alongside our expert colleagues at COWI and the architects at TREDJE NATUR. 💡Psst. Also, check out the third image! It’s a new rendering by our talented competition architects for an exhibition on the Lynetteholm project at Danish Architecture Center (Dansk Arkitektur Center) – go see it if you’re in town

Can you build a new train station while trains are still in service? In Trondheim, Norway, they are doing just that! From the outset of the design competition for this multifunctional building, a key requirement was that the façades be constructed with prefabricated elements. These elements could be hoisted on-site and mounted from the inside to minimize any impact on train traffic.   Our talented colleagues in Arkitemas competition department joined forces with expert façade engineers from COWI in the early design phase to develop a resilient and adaptable façade concept that could meet this complex challenge. Together, they created an ingenious modular system tailored to the building's unique design, featuring a remarkable curved façade with cantilevered floors facing the station plaza. The concept has been further developed by Arkitema’s Oslo office, in collaboration with Bane NOR Eiendom, contractor Veidekke, and KG Constructions Group. It is currently being installed at an impressive pace on this 18,600 sqm multifunctional building.   Trondheim Central Station will become a new hub linking Norway’s northern and southern regions. And it’s truly a transportation hub! It will connect pedestrians, cyclists, local and regional buses, trains, cars, and even boats, easing transitions between different modes of transportation.   Besides being a major transportation hub, the building will also serve as a new destination for locals and house various companies on its upper floors, where spacious offices are located. The architecture draws clear inspiration from the city’s traditional wooden building style, nestled between the historic industrial harbour and new urban development.